Black Box on UK ebay

[xrbrevin]

In case anyone is interested, here is a link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ATARI-CSS-Black-Box-bundle/303786051077?hash=item46bb0f4605:g:AKkAAOSwzN9fwPyI

 

i just spotted it and know they are uncommon so I thought i'd pass on the link

[+Nezgar]

Wow... very complete - 64K RAM, floppy board, hard drive, zip drive, and well written description by someone who is obviously knowledgeable, presumably original owner. Definitely a fine specimen for someone interested. Not for me though. Shows no shipping to Canada anyway - is it listed UK shipping only?

[mimo]

4 minutes ago, Nezgar said:

Wow... very complete - 64K RAM, floppy board, hard drive, zip drive, and well written description by someone who is obviously knowledgeable, presumably original owner. Definitely a fine specimen for someone interested. Not for me though. Shows no shipping to Canada anyway - is it listed UK shipping only?

yes, posts to UK only 

[lbaeza]

This makes me ask if any of you guys know any convenient (not too expensive) UK mailbox service that provide you with a physical UK adress and forward any packages arriving to that adress to the US?

 

Kind regards,

 

Luis

[TGB1718]

That is a lovely piece of kit, I didn't even know it existed (time to convince someone " 👩 " that this is essential for me  )

[mimo]

16 minutes ago, lbaeza said:

This makes me ask if any of you guys know any convenient (not too expensive) UK mailbox service that provide you with a physical UK adress and forward any packages arriving to that adress to the US?

 

Kind regards,

 

Luis

 google throws this up https://www.myukmailbox.com/ but I have never used it before.
Other option is to ask a UK AA member to take delivery for you and then forward it. I have done this from the USA to the UK in the past and also purchased sometging on ebay UK and then posted iot to an Australian AA member but that was only some cheap keyboard parts. Obviously you need to trust that they will actually forward it 

[+slx]

7 hours ago, lbaeza said:

This makes me ask if any of you guys know any convenient (not too expensive) UK mailbox service that provide you with a physical UK adress and forward any packages arriving to that adress to the US?

forward2me worked well for a couple of UK buys sent to continental Europe, don't know their US prices.

 

Did people set those up "bare" because the box was an extra 40$ or is it just that the boxes didn't survive?

[+Nezgar]

6 hours ago, slx said:

Did people set those up "bare" because the box was an extra 40$ or is it just that the boxes didn't survive?

Extra cost could have been a factor, possibly not available initially, but this Black Box has a floppy board upgrade, so that PCB stacked on top might have interfered with an enclosure...

[MrFish]

3 hours ago, Nezgar said:

...but this Black Box has a floppy board upgrade, so that PCB stacked on top might have interfered with an enclosure...

 

That's the first thought that came to my mind.

 

Maybe @Marius can speak up about it, as I'm pretty sure he owned a floppy board with his. Actually, maybe @Marius is the one selling here.

 

Edited November 28, 2020 by MrFish
Was getting Marius confused with Mathy...

[x=usr(1536)]

Those were neither readily-available nor cheap in that part of the world when they were new, and I would love to know this specific unit's history as a result.  It's the sort of thing that someone with a recreational interest in commercial software protection techniques may have been keen to own.

[Fox-1 / mnx]

Indeed, initially not available, relative expensive, no space for hard drive (the main reason to buy one I guess), to fit the floppy board add-on requires a little modding, and most of all, it was too ugly for many.

[MrFish]

It's not a black box with out the, uh... black box.

 

 

[Marius]

No it is not me on ebay. I would NEVER part with a blackbox. In fact, I am trying to see whether I could move back to it, since I have many fond memories of using it. 

 

I do not have a floppy board. 

 

I am SHOCKED though to see that it has zero bids. I was always under the impression that when I would need money BADLY I simply could sell one of my BlackBox to convert it into a big bag of gold. 

 

Hmmm wrong thought... perhaps it will get bids in the last hours?

[Marius]

On 11/28/2020 at 9:08 AM, MrFish said:

 

That's the first thought that came to my mind.

 

Maybe @Marius can speak up about it, as I'm pretty sure he owned a floppy board with his. Actually, maybe @Marius is the one selling here.

 

Actually it was @Mathy who owns a Floppyboard. Except for the first 2 characters in our names, we do not have anything in common... so I don't understand the mix-up haha.

[MrFish]

7 minutes ago, Marius said:

No it is not me on ebay. I would NEVER part with a blackbox. In fact, I am trying to see whether I could move back to it, since I have many fond memories of using it. 

 

To be honest, I didn't really think you would be selling either; but who knows. I was thinking maybe you decided that you weren't using it enough to justify holding onto it, and better to let someone else have it who might use it more. So, I thought maybe this might be the end of your contemplating about whether to start using it again or not.  

  

7 minutes ago, Marius said:

I am SHOCKED though to see that it has zero bids. I was always under the impression that when I would need money BADLY I simply could sell one of my BlackBox to convert it into a big bag of gold. 

 

I'm shocked too. It's quite a decent starting bid for such a rare and desirable piece of kit; and I don't think they often include the floppy board when they actually do come up for sale. I'm pretty sure the auction would be going differently if it were up for sale here in the U.S. for that price. I will say that I prefer to see them cased; although, I'm not sure how well that works out with the floppy board in there.

 

[MrFish]

18 minutes ago, Marius said:

Actually it was @Mathy who owns a Floppyboard. Except for the first 2 characters in our names, we do not have anything in common... so I don't understand the mix-up haha.

 

Wait, aren't you both from the Netherlands? And of course you both own Black Boxes. Hmmm...

 

[Mathy]

Hello MrFish

 

2 hours ago, MrFish said:

Wait, aren't you both from the Netherlands? And of course you both own Black Boxes. Hmmm...

And we both love Atari 8 bit computers.

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

 

 

[Marius]

1 hour ago, Mathy said:

Hello MrFish

 

And we both love Atari 8 bit computers.

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

 

 

Haha you and @MrFish are so right!

 

1. Ma as starting characters in both our names

2. Both from The Netherlands

3. Both owners of BlackBox

4. Both love Atari 8bit computers

 

Are you a secret twin brother? 

Lol

Greetz

Marius

[Mathy]

Hello Marius

 

1 hour ago, Marius said:

Are you a secret twin brother?

As far as I know, I only have a secret twin sister of whom I've never heard anything about.

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

 

 

[Marius]

By the way...

 

There are a few odd things about this BlackBox on the photo.

 

1. On all of my blackboxes there is a green and a red LED. This one appears to have a yellow led.

2. There is a strange rectangle cut out on the right side just above the XE cart connector.

3. The power supply connector is different than original?

4. The color of the PCB is much lighter green than all of my BB's

It's a pity we don't see a pic of the blackbox without the floppy board. On older blackboxes the yellow resistor-chip (I believe it is a resistor pack) is in a socket as well. On later BB's it was soldered on the PCB. I have one older BB where it is in a socket. 

 

Anyway, still no bids. Very odd.

[xrbrevin]

41 minutes ago, Marius said:

still no bids

does £150 quid represent good value? i wonder if the price is discouraging the bids or will there be a last-second blitz?... 🤔

[Marius]

42 minutes ago, xrbrevin said:

does £150 quid represent good value? i wonder if the price is discouraging the bids or will there be a last-second blitz?... 🤔

I have no idea, but I was seriously under the impression that when I would sell one of my Black Boxes it should bring in at least 300 euros. I am afraid that is not going to happen.

 

If I had no blackbox at this moment, I would definitely pay £150 ... including a floppy board. Obviously the times in a8 land have changed. Something I can understand very well of course (at this moment my black box is not in use as well, since the modern upgrades do some of the Black Box tasks faster and better) ... but still.... the Black Box has some unique features and sometimes I really miss them. And besides that... the Black Box 'breaths' the nostalgia feeling more than those modern add-ons... (for me) but that is probably a matter of taste; or something personal.

[mimo]

someone snagged it for £150, not me 

[Mclaneinc]

I like others would have expected this to sell like the Holy Grail, odd times...

 

I'd say someone got a bargain...

[Wrathchild]

I was tempted but as pointed out earlier in the thread, more recent devices can do pretty much all one needs (and without the need for the power supplies and desk space).

 

Here's hoping xrbrevin snarf'd it and its gone to a good home.